The closets have been switched over. The linen is all put away. The boots are in the front closet along with knit hats with pom poms on the top. Most of our annual miracle is taking place as I write. You've seen the spectacular pictures of our gorgeous state of New Hampshire in the Fall and its breathtaking Autumn leaves. The beauty can be seen from the far off mountain tops to the smallest of single leaves. I was taken by the utter brilliance of the yellow my hostas turned this year. Inspiration and glory can be found everywhere.
Sigh....back to our clothing needs and how the change of seasons effect them when living in NH. I see many sewists speaking of their autumn wardrobe plans. We don't do that here. There are two seasons for clothing here, Winter and Summer. In Spring and Fall, you just wear less of what you wore in the two previously mentioned seasons and drop the boots. It does simplify things.
After having gone thru the "changeover" and it took several days, I now know what I need, what I want and what to prioritize. What I learned from last season is that buying more fabrics in the colors I just plain liked meant they would go with other things I already made in those same colors I just plain liked. No modules, no getting my colors done, no Plan for me. At this stage I know what works, what I will get my money's worth from and that's as complicated as it gets. Buy fabrics in the colors you like that work for you and it will fall into place. That's rule number one of my lack of plan.
Here is what I discovered I need.
* Pants I am so tired of jeans. I have them to wear and will wear when necessary, like under ski pants in a snow storm outside. But I want warm, nice, everyday pants. Rayon ponte with a bit of beef looks like the answer, also maybe some modal pants. Modal has a lovely drape and could work for a holiday pair. I also have some pantweight wool and some corduroy that is calling as well and I won't have to buy. The pattern above I have made before in the bottom left navy view. Hard to tell but it has a tulip hem which you can see blogged about here.
I know they will be a bit big but I can work off this pair to see what sort of adjustments will be needed. This is a great pattern with all those different hem lengths and the gathered waist. Can't go wrong there! So warm winter pants are needed and coming.
* Tops
You can wear whatever you want up here in "live free or die country". Oh, how we hate that state motto! Anyhoo, wear what you want but sooner or later in any NH winter you will need to put on a flannel shirt and/or a turtleneck. I love a great flannel shirt. I have been eyeing Kaufman's version of this rainbow plaid above but it is not easy to come by and I don't think it is even being printed any more. When I saw the Joann version in their Plaiditudes line I jumped right on it. I have made tops with Plaiditudes before and been very happy with the results. I have come across no shrinkage and that applied on this fabric as well. This is not your two dollar Snuggle Flannel, people. It is yarn dyed, giving you the same print throughout on both sides. It is hefty and keeps that weight throughout washing, and is 100% cotton. I have found there are varying weights on the shelf. I can only vouch for the heavyweight flannel and I have been very satisfied.
I am thinking of making the black stripe version on the right with a simple collar band/mandarin style collar and a shorter length shirtail hem. Still morphing a bit on this one. Have to keep that large plaid matching in mind. This I need.
Another type of top I need for winter is a warm throw on top, something I can pick up in the house and throw on while we keep the temps low in these times of outrageous fuel costs. It's not a jacket and not a cardi. I have toppers that function perfectly for that specific cause but they have seen better days and I need some refreshing. What you see above are some wool crepe, rather heavy and some overdyed wool pieces I got at our local quilt shop, which is amazing BTW. I have an idea brewing for this but for now I am first considering warmth as we will keep the house and my sewing space on the cool side. Vogue 9338 is a possibility but it is constantly out of stock at our local JA, 3 months of constantly! Ugh.... I will make this work one way or another. No closures, big but shortened sleeves length and warm with happy colors. On the lookout!
This top will actually be a dress cut short. I fell in love with this and think the sleeves are positively amazing. I don't have a plan but this is a wannasew not a need to sew. It stares back at me from my cutting table. I would cut it back to top length and omit the wide hem band, which I do think is fabulous, BTW.
*Undies
* I need new undies. I have loads of fabrics and laces ready to go. For my own education and hopefully comfort, I would like to try my hand at woven undies. I have a lovely stash of silks waiting for their moment.
I also purchased some amazing stretch laces for this project and can't wait to play with those as well.
* Hats
Next on my need list are a couple of winter hats, just something maybe a little more decorative and artsy than the knit hats seen everywhere. I have lots of fulled wool acquired from wool sweaters to work with. Hubby suggested berets. I love berets but to find a pattern........If anyone knows of a great beret pattern for woven felted wool, please let me know.
And one of my biggest winter sewing related wannados is major. I want to tape off all the sheetrock in my basement/sewing space. The rock is installed but the joins have never been taped and all those screws as well. I did our bath in the last house so I know I can do it and the ceilings are average height. A pro will be called in for the ceilings. After that it will be prime and paint. Hubs wants to seal the floors but that won't happen until next spring when we can open things up and move the fresh air around, not in the winter for sure. If we can get that done it will be full bore on our way to actually making a real room down there. Throw in some surgery in 3 weeks with a 6 week recuperation and we shall see if I have over anticipated what this winter will allow me to achieve. Stay tuned for the reality of it all. Changes will abound, whether by choice or circumstance!.....Bunny
I buy thread the same way you buy fabrics, when there is a sale, get some colours you like... eventually you will use them. This has worked out well.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned needing a hat pattern. There is a pdf beret pattern over on the madebyoranges site, and it is meant to be made of jogging fleece. There is a child's version of the same pattern as well. I've not tried their hat patterns, but find I like their ease in clothing patterns.
Loving the pant hem finish, different without being weird/impractical.
I hope your surgery turns out to be a minor thing, and wish you well.
Mary in Thailand
Thanks for your kind thoughts, Mary. I am having hernia surgery, result of bumping into a sharp corner of furniture in the middle of the night. Thank you so much for the beret information. I will check it out now. I really appreciate it. Take care.
DeleteI have had good luck finding discontinued Kaufman flannels on my favorite flannel vendor's Etsy shop, FlannelLand. (Good prices and great customer service. NAYY.) However, I did not see the flannel you posted about - too bad! She does still have Kaufman's Durango plaid (in colors I call "Arizona sunset"). Be warned, though, that this line of Kaufman flannel is heavier than the Mammoth flannels. DS loves the shirt I made for him, though!
ReplyDeleteMy day is always brighter when there's a post from Bunny in my feed!
Judith
Awwww, so sweet. Thank you. I have used the Kaufman flannel in the past and was able to buy at the quilt shop on the Akwasasne reservation when I lived in upstate NY. Love those heavy flannels. This one is really quite nice. Thanks for your kind thoughts.
DeleteGreat plans! I'll be hoping surgery goes oh-so-smoothly. About berets -- years ago I used to make fleece berets for a friend going through chemo. I used Nancy Zieman's Sewing with Kindness pattern. It was easy and adjustable in size. And ... it always looked terrific on my friend. The free pattern is bound to be out there somewhere. ... I always enjoy your notes about New Hampshire. We'll be going there again after Christmas and of course taking all warm clothes top to bottom. My best to you!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you might be a skier. We do have a beautiful state that allows so much enjoyments thru the seasons. I will look for Nancy's pattern. Thank you.
DeleteI'm in need of casual slacks myself, but haven't found a base pattern yet. Anyway, I sewed a beret out of a felted cashmere sweater, & used this pattern-
ReplyDeletehttp://annekata.blogspot.com/2010/12/greta-garbo-and-how-to-make-new-hat.html?m=1
Wow, that sounds like a wonderful upcycle. Thanks you so much for your link, greatly appreciated. What I like about this pattern are the options for variety that it offers. Even if you don't actually use the pattern it gives some great options for changing up a pair of pants. Thanks for the link, Laurinda.
ReplyDeleteLaurinda, I just checked out the pattern/link. This is so easy and I plan to try it out very soon. Thank you ever so much. Now to find the right size dinner plate!
DeleteI always have plans too and about half of what I plan actually makes it into my closet so I understand. Oh and I'm concentrating on tops/shirts for this winter too. Though I'm not wise enough as you are to turn the temperature down, I HATE to be cold. Finally, I hope surgery goes well and the recovery is easy!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carolyn. Planning is such fun. We'll see what reality brings, right?
DeleteYour dry wall project sounds like serious exercise, lots of stretching and stepping on and off stools! Have you considered adding radiant heat to the floor? We did that in a bathroom as part of a remodel - I thought my husband was mad but it turns out to be lovely under the inexpensive ceramic tile I picked.
ReplyDeletececi
Thanks,Ceci, for the idea.Our heat is hot water and we have solar for that. A newer section of the house, not put up by us, is not powered by solar but we did put in a Renai which is very efficient. Citizens of NH all had, last month, a 125% increase in electric bills. We are just watching everything as all around us is just going up and up. What do those on limited incomes do? . For the basement all we really want to do to the floors is seal them and then throw some nice rugs here and there but not where I sew. Thanks for your suggestion.
ReplyDelete